Apples are Looking Good this week in our garden.
Bramley apples are usually picked and sold when green. We don’t pick ours until we need them. They are ready to use from about September onwards so that’s when we start to pick and use them in the kitchen.  We like apple pies, apple crumble and today we had Apple Cake.

We like to see our apples ripen on the tree. We don’t harvest and store the fruit all in one go. If you leave them where they are they will turn from bright green to a deep shiny red. The apples on the outside of the tree in the sun ripen and change colour first. The fruit in the centre of the tree or on the shady side take longer to turn red. That’s great for us… we can just pick a few fruits when we need them.
Some years they end up looking like baubles on a Christmas Tree!

Our Bramley’s Seedling Apple Tree produces firm sharp fruit that’s perfect for baking. If you have ripe apples that you would like to use now then here’s our delicious easy recipe for apple cake for you to try.

Apple Cake Recipe

This recipe for Apple Cake is filled with fruit. It is quick to make and delicious to eat. The sponge is fluffy and moist and the sugar topping creates a light crunch. You can eat it warm straight from the oven (like a pudding with cream or ice cream) or serve it cold with a cup of coffee. I make this in two loaf tins and each cake will cut into 10 generous slices.

Ingredients

• Juice of ½ an orange
• 200g sultanas
• 2 large cooking apples Bramleys
• Juice of ½ a lemon and grated zest of 1 lemon
• 250g caster sugar, plus Demerara for sprinkling over the top
• 250g unsalted butter, softened
• 350g self-raising flour, sifted
• 6 medium sized eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Cream or ice cream to serve

 

 

Method

• Soak the sultanas in orange juice whilst you prepare the cake mixture.
• Heat the oven to 170°C or Gas mark 3 and butter two loaf tins or one large cake tin.
• Peel, core and quarter your apples then slice into a small bowl with the lemon juice.
• In your mixing bowl beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add  flour, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Finally drain away any excess orange juice from the sultanas and add the fruit to the mixture.
• Spoon the half the mixture into your cake tin then add a layer of apple slices. Spoon in the rest of the mixture and press the in remaining apple slices so that they are barely visible. Sprinkle a little Demerara sugar over the top.
• Place a piece of greaseproof paper over the top of the cake to prevent it browning too quickly. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour if using one large cake tin or about 40 minutes for two loaf tins. Use a skewer to check that the centre of the cake is cooked through.
• The cake will shrink away from the sides of the cake tin slightly when cooked. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the tin then turn out onto a serving plate. Slice and serve hot with cream/ice cream or cold with your favourite coffee.

Are you picking fruit from your garden this autumn?
What’s looking good in your garden this week?

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Welcome to Looking Good

This is week 3 of my Friday Blogging event. We would love to see what’s looking good in your garden or neighbourhood.
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Thanks very much for joining in with Looking Good!  Gillian 🙂